Wellworn Journal
by Tovaras
Summary: A story about a Dalish elf from a small clan and his place in the blight. This story takes place from the start to the end.
1. Ostagar

Well-Worn Journal

Dragon Age: Origins

Well-worn Journal

Pairing: None

A story about a Dalish elf from a small clan and his place in the blight.  
This story is halfway written as a diary and halfway in "present time" during the more noteworthy events of the game.

xoxoxo

_Day 1:_

_It's strange, leaving the clan, my family, for the first time in my life. I am filled with different emotions from my departure; Sorrow from leaving my clan and family behind, grief that I cannot stand and grief for my poor, departed friend. But the worse feeling must be the feeling of excitement about doing something huge for the sake of Ferelden. Being a part of a small group of the finest men and women possible. But yet, I feel that it is bad to have that feeling. I should be grieving._

_Tamlen… How can I make up for this? I should have insisted harder on us going and maybe this wouldn't have happened… I should have pulled you away from that mirror when we found it…_

_Keeper Marethari told me not to let myself be overcome with guilt. Instead, she gave me this book so I can write about my adventures along with the shem Duncan and the Grey Wardens. She told me it would help me keep my thoughts straight, writing down what I see and feel, though a look of worry was covering her face. I know she knows something about this… Cure that the shem claims to have for me, but the fool I was, I didn't ask about it. I had enough trouble coming to grips with the fact that I am to become a Grey Warden._

_A Grey Warden. Me._

_I wonder what my parents would think of it. Would they be proud? I do not know._

_By the gods, how did I even get into this situation..?_

xoxoxox_  
_

It was with a heavy heart that Theron left the clan behind, the chant from the burial still ringing in his ears. Duncan was walking silently ahead of him, giving the young elf the time he needed to get his mind sorted.

In the blink of an eye, the Dalish elf had had his world turned upside down. His best friend was gone, most likely dead or taken by the darkspawn for food. He himself was ill with the taint and was surely to die if he didn't come with Duncan. And if he came with Duncan to become a Grey Warden, he would be forced to say good bye to the only life he'd ever known. He didn't even know if he would be allowed to see his family again.

All he had brought with him was a bow that Ilen had given him, crafted by his own hand, the light leather clothes he wore and a small bag fastened to his belt. In it was a small pouch with what little coin his clan had been able to provide, a vial with ink and a black leather-bound book with a quill inside it. Around his neck was a simple necklace given to him from Ashalle; the only heritage he had from his parents.

"Are you scared?"

Blinking his eyes, Theron brushed his hair out of his face. "Sorry?"

Duncan smiled slightly at him from over his shoulder before stopping long enough for the two of them to go side by side. "Leaving your clan? Meeting the unknown? Does it scare you?"

Theron hesitated before nodding, casting his eyes down at the ground and watched his own feet move beneath him. "… I would be lying if I said I wasn't… I… I am... Scared. I have no idea what is to come after all. But… If it is what I have to do, then I have to… And it will be for a good cause, I will help save lives… Hopefully."

Duncan nodded and patted Theron's shoulder in a comforting manner. "Good… This is why I know you will make a good Grey Warden. You are wise enough to recognise the danger of the unknown, preparing yourself for what you may, or may not face. But you are also strong enough to recognise this as your duty, as a job. You, Theron, are a good man. A brave man. The Dalish will be proud of you."

Theron felt this face flush and looked down, embarrassment clear on his face. Duncan just smiled at the boy before speaking up. "We will be travelling south through the Hinterlands to the ruins of Ostagar, on the edges of the Konkari Wilds. We will be travelling as fast as we can muster, time is of the essence."

Theron just nodded, glad that he was used to such long travels.

The travel was long, but without any significant danger hindering them. They camped by a small stream when night came, though if any of them slept any, Theron didn't know. As soon as the sun peaked up over the horizon, they put out the fire and started travelling again.

The sun was high on the sky when Duncan spoke up again properly, pointing towards a mighty looking ruin in the distance. "That," he said and smiled slightly. "Is Ostagar. The last standpoint when we were battling the Orlesian and it will be the last standpoint when we fight the darkspawn and hopefully end this Blight."

Stepping into the ruins together, Duncan continued his explanations. "The Teviner Imperium built Ostagar long ago to prevent the Wilders from invading the northern lowlands. It is fitting that we make our stand here, even if we face a different foe from within that forest. The king's army has clashed with the darkspawn several times, but here is where the bulk of the horde will show itself."

Glancing over at Theron, Duncan looked over the elf's slightly nervous face before allowing himself a faint smile. Theron noticed the look, but didn't say anything, not wanting to seem nervous. If anything, he was quite eager to hear more, despite the gnawing feeling of worry in his stomach.

Duncan just nodded at him before fixing his gaze towards the might stone arch ahead of them. "This Blight must be stopped, here and now. If it spreads to the north, Ferelden will fall."

Theron swallowed. If anything, Duncan didn't try to hide what was really going on at this time. He didn't know if he was to appreciate the fact or run away to hide. Then he blinked as a rather chipper voice let itself be noticed, so out of place in an area, and a situation, such as this.

"Ho there, Duncan!"

Watching as Duncan blinked in surprise, Theron just silently let them speak, dully noting that they were shaking hands. That was a custom he just didn't understand…

"King Cailan? I wasn't expecting a-"

"A royal welcome?" Cailan interrupted with a chuckle, shaking Duncan's hand with great enthusiasm. "I was beginning to worry that you would miss all the fun."

Duncan gave a small smirk as he released Cailan's hand. "Not if I can help it, your majesty."

"Then I will have the mighty Duncan at my side in battle after all! Glorious," the king chirped before giving a glance at Theron. "The other wardens told me that you had found a promising recruit. I take it this is he?"

Duncan nodded while gesturing to Theron, who suddenly felt more nervous. "Allow me to introduce you, your majesty."

Cailan waved him off with a grin. "There's no need to be so formal, Duncan. We'll be shedding blood together after all." Stepping up to Theron, Cailan flashed him a huge grin before patting his shoulder. "Ho there, friend. Might I know your name?"

Blinking some, a bit surprised by the human king's informal way of speaking as well as the touching, Theron swallowed before bowing lightly. The human lord may have not been his king, but he was the king of the shems and they would be battling together. He could might as well show some respect. "I am Theron, sir," he replied, cursing himself when he heard his voice squeak.

Cailan just laughed and slapped him over the back before rambling about the grey wardens, the darkspawn and the blight, making Theron smile. The man reminded him very much like a child playing war and while his mindset worried him, it was hard not to be inspired by his energy.

Maybe he would like it here just fine after all.


	2. Lothering

_Day 2 (night):_

_I met a couple of new Shem today, though by far, the most noteworthy one must be the one by the name of Alistair. He was… Nothing like I expected from the Shems, or the Grey Wardens. All those I have met today, with the exception of the king, have been serious as the grave, though it is understandable._

_Alistair on the other had was rather happy-go-lucky, and he didn't even comment on the fact that I was an elf, only that it was rare for us to join the Grey Wardens. Not because they didn't accept us, it was more because we Dalish don't want to. If anything, it seemed as he was more afraid that I wouldn't accept him._

_Despite our racial differences, I find myself liking him quite a lot. Even as shocking and painful as the joining was, with the death of the two other humans I met today, namely Daveth and Seer Jory, Alistair managed to distract me from the pain as strategies were discussed, constantly making small jokes and comments to make me laugh. It was a hard trial to go through though, watching two good men fall to the ground. Poor Daveth, he was willing to give his very life to end the possible blight… Shame that he had to give up for the blood. And Seer Jory, not able to carry the burden of the Grey Warden._

_Alistair suggested that I should not think too much of them. This was the price the Grey Wardens had to pay. If anything, he said I should honour their memory by being the best Grey Warden possible._

_He is a wise one that Alistair, even if he is a little strange._

_Though I must now go and prepare for the battle that is coming. This battle will be big. I hope everything will go well._

***

_Day 3:_

_All is lost…_

_At one moment, I was preparing for the Joining, once again battling darkspawn and even drinking their tainted blood. Duncan explained to me just how it worked, but I can scarcely believe it…_

_Nor can I believe the battle that took place only the gods know how long ago. All those soldiers, mercilessly slaughtered by the darkspawn. And all because that treacherous dog Loghain pulled out of the battle! What man can do that and let his king die?_

_Only I and Alistair survived the battle, saved by a woman that we saw earlier in the Konkari wilds. Her mother, going under the name of Flemeth, sent her with us as we travel on to seek help in our battle. We still have the treaties and Alistair suggested that we travel to a town called Redcliffe to speak with king Cailan's uncle._

_I am afraid though. It is only the two of us now, plus a witch that doesn't seem like she wants to be with us one bit. She suggested that we go to Lothering for supplies, seeing as we have little more than what we wear now. I am just glad that the pouch containing my few personal belongings, this diary included, was still fastened to my belt._

_For now I suppose we will have to follow her suggestion and see what we end up with. The gods know we need all the help we can get._

***

_Day 5: _

_Alistair and Morrigan are not getting along. We've been travelling for two days now and I don't think they have shut up about each other once. Morrigan is the worse though, Alistair is still in shock over loosing Duncan. His mood though makes him snap at her, which is well deserved, in my opinion. When they are not tossing random insults at each other, they are scowling at one another behind my back. I like Alistair, he is a good man for a Shem, but sometimes I just want to hit him over the head and ask him to shut up and snap out of the depression he is in._

_I don't dare to hit Morrigan._

_At least I have the Mabari dog to keep me company; at least he shuts up… I should think of a name for him soon. It was fun to see him come running though, another survivor of the battle in Ostagar. Perhaps that means there are more._

_We arrived in Lothering earlier today, but we couldn't stay very long. We barely managed to get one hot meal before we were tossed about for different reasons. For one, Loghain has put up a bounty on our heads, wanting us dead on sight. This makes us a rather tempting target for both farmers and soldiers. Our salvation came in the form of a chantry woman named Leliana, who claimed that the "Maker" had told her to come with us. _

_As Alistair said; we are filling up on the crazy._

_ She wouldn't take no for an answer either so in the end we brought her along._

_Just to make it even more interesting, we managed to save a Quanari named Sten out from a cage. We got the impression that he would be a good ally instead of him being left to die in a cage. We also agreed that this giant would crush our heads if we don't pay attention._

_After getting blessed by the revered mother, we left Lothering with our supplies and a little money from doing a couple of tasks for the local people. Our good bye to this little town was dealing with a minor darkspawn attack. I just hope the dwarfs we saved during that won't tag along with us as well… _

***

Closing his journal, Theron let out a small sigh before glancing around at their small make-shift camp. Three people had suddenly turned into five, not counting the Mabari, and while it gave them more of an advantage to get supplies, they also drew more attention while wandering at the road. It wasn't hard to notice them when three humans, one quanari and a Mabari dog was lead by an elf.

Rubbing his forehead, carefully so he didn't get ink on himself, Theron started thinking about what the heck they were supposed to do now. He was truly wondering if he was even fit to lead this group anywhere, but Alistair had more than happily handed him the reins. It didn't seem like he wanted the responsibility anymore than he did.

"You look like you have quite a lot on your shoulders."

Looking up, Theron gave Leliana a faint smile before motioning for her to sit. Besides Alistair, Leliana had proved to be one of the people he preferred to speak with. She made for pleasant talking, if one didn't think about the fact that she claimed to hear voices.

"One could say that," he replied as soon as she sat down, carefully straightening out the white and red chantry robe. The poor girl hadn't even had time to change before they had been chased out of Lothering, only grabbing the most important of her belongings. He would have to make sure that she got something more suited for the road later…

"Well," she started before flashing Theron a bright smile. "How about tossing out your ideas and I will see what I can do to help you. Unless you'd rather want to discuss your tactics with Alistair, of course, seeing as you are the only remaining Grey Wardens."

Theron snorted before picking up a map from besides him, one of the few things he'd managed to snatch up in Lothering. "I wouldn't trust him to lead us to lunch at this point, he's already made it quite clear that he will just follow my lead," he mumbled before nudging his finger against the map. "I am quite tempted to go to the east and see if we can find the Dalish, but it's a bit to close to Denerim for my taste… Redcliff seems like the most logical choice since its closer by… And since we'll be in the area, visiting the tower of Magi and Ozhammar seems like the way to go…" Sighing, Theron lowered his head, his long hair covering his face. "Of course, I can be way out of my league and be planning the most idiotically of tactics…"

Leliana chuckled before patting Theron's back. "I think you are doing a good job so far. And what you just said made sense to me. Go where you feel it's logical to go, no?" Then she winked before standing up again, dusting off the seat of her robe. "Of course, you should not listen to the woman that hears voices in her head, no?"

Feeling his face flare up, Theron peaked up at her from behind his hair. "… You heard that, didn't you?"

Leliana smiled and waved her hand. "I took no offence, I am merely jesting. I suppose it does sound strange, claiming to hear the maker in a dream. I can understand. Though I appreciate the attempt at understanding."

"Well," Theron started while scratching the Mabari's ear as it came to lay down beside him. "If anyone knows how it is to be an outcast, it must be us elves. I have never experienced much… Hatred towards my people myself, except from the stray shems we happened to run into as we travelled, but I have heard the tales from the few city elves that happened to come across us." Looking up, he gave a weak smile before shrugging his shoulders. "So who am I to judge? People have the right to believe in what they want and not be frowned upon because of it."

Leliana chuckled before flashing Theron a warm smile. "I know you say you are young… But you already have more wisdom in you than many. I can tell that you think a lot." Then she winked before turning to leave. "Just watch it. Too much thinking gives one grey hair, no?"

Chuckling, Theron gave Leliana a wry smile. "Thanks, I'll heed your warning."

Opening his journal again, Theron carefully uncorked his vial with ink and dipped his quill in it before starting to write.

_"In addition to what Alistair said earlier; Even if we are filling up on the crazy… There's more wisdom in all of us than you can find in any scholar. _

_We are the outcast and thus we know."_

***


	3. Redcliffe

_Day 7:_

_After some discussion between us, we decided to go to Redcliffe as our first stop. Seeing as we are a rather large group, we agreed that Sten and the mabari was to stay back at camp to protect most of our belongings, while I, Morrigan, Alistair and Leliana moved to Redcli__ffe. The more humans the better and with some luck, they won't know exactly who we are. The danger is me and Alistair, being the only surviving Grey Wardens. But really… How obvious can we be?_

***

Staring at Redcliffe castle with wide eyes, Theron was completely caught up with the new sight that he almost walked into Alistair. Blinking as he stared at Alistair, he waited for the man to do something before he yelped as he was tugged away from the others. "Woah woah, where the heck are you taking me?"

"I just… Look, can we talk for a moment," Alistair simply said before releasing the smaller male and rubbed his neck nervously. "I need to tell you something, I, ah, should probably have told you earlier."

Theron rubbed his arm a little, giving Alistair a small pout. "Let me guess: You're an idiot?"

Alistair just rolled his eyes before grinning and lifting his hand in a defensive motion. "Yes, that's right! I stopped you to tell you I'm an idiot. Whew!" he sighed while running his hand through his hair, looking relieved. "Thank the Maker you know already! Now I can stop worrying I'll be found out."

Letting out a small chuckle, Theron shook his head before crossing his arms over his chest, looking at Alistair with an amused expression. "It wasn't exactly a secret," he mused before turning more serious, not wanting to insult the man too much. "But what's on your mind? I mean, we're kinda on a tight schedual here and the quicker we can talk to this arl Eamon, the better…"

"It is important," Alistair said quickly before biting his lip. "… I told you before how arl Eamon raised me, right? That my mother was a serving girl at the castle and he took me in?"

Theron nodded while looking Alistair in the eyes, seeing the way they darted from side to side, as if nervous that someone else was listening in on them.

"The reason he did that was because… Well, because my father was King Maric. Which made Cailan my… Well, half brother, I suppose."

Staring at Alistair with a raised eyebrow, Theron tried to process what Alistair had just told him before slowly speaking. "So… You're not just a bastard, but a royal bastard?" he asked, adding a little smile to the sentence. He could tell that this was hard for Alistair and hoped a little bit of humor would help him relax.

"Hah, yes, I guess it does at that," Alistair laughed while grinning. "I should use that line more often." Still chuckling, he stepped a little closer to Theron before lowering his voice again. "I would have told you, but… It never really ment anything to me. I was inconvenient, a possible threat to Cailan's rule and so they kept me secret. I've never talked about it to anyone. Everyone who knew either resented me for it or they coddled me. Even Duncan kept me out of the fighting because of it. I didn't want you to know for as long as possible." Sighing, Alistair added a low "I'm sorry.".

Smiling some, Theron lowered his head in a silent thanks before looking up again. He felt honored that Alistair was sharing some of his past and secret with him, and while the human lords ment nothing to him, it did mean something to him that Alistair was viewing him as someone he could trust. He just hoped he would never have to betray that trust. "It's alright, I think I understand," he murmured softly before smiling up at his friend.

Alistair smiled back, a look of relief crossing his face. "Good, I'm glad. It's not like I got special treatment for it anyhow. At any rate, that's it. That's what I wanted to tell you. I thought you should know about it."

Theron smirked and gave Alistair a playful punch at the shoulder. "Are you sure? You're not hiding anything else?"

Alistair just grinned before wrapping his arm around Theron's shoulders, hugging him close in a brotherly way. "Besides my unholy love for fine cheeses and a minor obsession with my hair, no, that's it. Just the prince thing." Then he looked more fascinated with the length of Theron's own hair, dragging his fingers slightly through it. Then he blushed and pulled his arm away. "Erm, sorry. Just… I have never seen such long hair before and it's in such a good condition."

Waving his hand, Theron dismissed Alistairs apology before grinning. "Nothing to worry about, I do get response from people. I am starting to feel like something on display or something like it."

"Well, it –is- pretty," Alistair pressed, giving Theron a small smirk of his own as they started walking after the others, who'd stopped by the bride to wait.

"I know it is," Theron replied with a wink before adding a quick comeback. "So I should be calling you Prince Alistair?"

Not able to hold his laugher back from the look that crossed Alistair's face, he stopped up to catch his breath before finding a large gloved hand covering his mouth and a second hand tugging him closer to Alistair. "Sssssh, I don't want anyone else to find out! And Maker's breath, no, just hearing that is giving me a heart-attack!"

Ignoring Theron's snickering, Alistair attempted to glare at him. "It's not true anyhow… I'm the son of a commoner. It was always made clear that the throne is not in my future. And that is fine with me." Shaking his head, Alistair looked towards the castle resting on the cliff next to the village. "No, if there's an heir to be found, it's Arl Eamon himself. He's not of royal blood, but he is Cailan's uncle… And more importantly, very popular with the people." Then a shadow crossed over his face as a thought hit him. "Though… If he's really as sick as we've heard… No. I don't wanna think about that. I really don't."

Finally releasing Theron from his grip, Alistair nodded his head towards the girls again. "So there you have it. Now can we get a move on, and I'll just pretend you still think I'm some… Nobody that was too lucky to die with the rest of the Grey Wardens."

Theron just smiled before a devil passed through him and he gave Alistair a light bow. "As you command… My prince."

Alistair rolled his eyes before stalking off towards Leliana and Morrigan. "Oh, lovely. Somehow I just know I'm going to regret this… I just know it…"

***__

Day 8 (night):

_Well, this just keeps getting better and better._

_Once we finally managed to get to Redcliffe, we found that the entire village was overrun by the undead. Horrors came flocking out of the castle, hundres of people were dead. A man named Bann Teagan, apparently the arl of Redcliffe's brother, asked for our aid which we, of course, agreed to give. _

_Morrigan was most displeased with the fact, but she kept her opinions to herself. Mostly._

_After convincing the local blacksmith as well as a dwarf named Dwyn to help defend and give assistance to the city, we managed to drive the undead back. But not without cost… The mayor, a man named Murdock, gave his life in the attempt to protect the chantry from the undead. May the gods have mercy on his soul and let him rest in pride for what he gave._

_After talking to Bann Teagan about our current situation, a woman by the name of Isolde came running. I didn't really understand what she was going on about, I doubt any of us was, but she wanted the Bann to come to the castle with her alone. Alistair and myself tried to make her say more, but she wouldn't. In the end the Bann agreed to go with her, but not before telling us of a way to get into the castle._

_The castle wasn't in much better condition and we learned the most likely reason as to why the village was such a condition. We found a mage named Jowan, a Maleficar and an apostate, and we were able to ask him for answers. Apparantly the Arl's son, Connor, has shown tendencies of magic and the mage was hired to train him. Instead, by the order of Loghain, he poisoned the Arl. But he pleaded for his cause and he seemed like he was genuinely sorry about everything and wanted for us to give him a chance. So we released him from the cell he was in, much to Alistair's frustrations. I will have to talk to him about it later, seeing as the templar in him still is very much there._

_After fighting our way to the main hall, we found that the Arl's son was possessed by a demon and had taken control over everything in the castle. We managed to free the Bann from the spell the demon had put him under and after looking over our options, we found that we had to try and save the boy. Morrigan wasn't very happy about it, thinking it was a waste of time, but killing a boy in cold blood…_

_To end this briefly, we now have our new course set for us. One mission suddenly got split into three, but thankfully, it all leads to the same place. We're going to the Tower of Magi to speak with the mages there for help, both for Arl Eamon and his son as well as in the Blight. _

_I am just praying that we'll have little problems with that… With our luck, the Tower will probably toss us out._

***

"Ugh, now I start wishing I could be left at camp. If I am to spent more time with this oaf of a man, then I will be sick!"

"Same, the view would be so much lovelier if you stayed back."

Sighing as Morrigan once again let everyone know how much she loved Alistair's company, Theron opted to try and ignore her. And Alistair for that matter.

They had been travelling north towards the Tower of Magi ever since the happenings in Redcliffe, having promised Bann Teagan and Isolde to ask the mages for help by suggestion from Jowan.

Leliana had stayed in the camp just outside Redcliffe because of a minor injury to her foot, remaining with Sten and the Mabari to help defend the town if needed. Having hoped that the trip would be a fast one, seeing as the tower was only a day's journey away from Redcliffe, Theron had believed that only Alistair and Morrigan would be needed if anything would turn up on the way, but so far the constant bickering between them had become the biggest challenge… He had been tempted no more than six times to turn around and start yelling at them to shut up, and it was only the long hours of meditation with his tribe that helped him resist the urge.

When the mage-tower finally came into view it was such a welcome sight that Theron was tempted to simply fall to his knees and start crying. So when Alistair pointed out how unpractical the tower was while Morrigan remarked on what it looked like, Theron was caught so ungarded that he broke down with laughter.

While Alistair tried to make the elf snap out of it, Morrigan simply rolled her eyes and started walking towards the dock. "Wonderful, now our fearless leader has snapped as well. 'tis just becomes more and more promising by the minute."

"Oh, shut up, Morrigan and help me get him back on his feet!" Ignoring Morrigan's wave of dismissal, Alistair hooked an arm around Theron's waist and gave him a concerned look. "Theron, are you alright?"

Almost gasping for air, Theron just nodded while giggling, waving his hand about as he tried to calm down. "I am so sorry, I just… This trip. And you two. And that phallus of a tower. Just too much!"

"Mind you, it wasn't that funny," Alistair replied dryly as he tried to make Theron stand on his own. "But I think you need some rest. Maybe the mages can offer us a bed or something for the night."

"I certainly hope so, I think I need a good night's rest. The gods know I haven't slept well since Ostagar. I haven't dared to and the dreams aren't really making it much easier either," Theron murmured as he supported himself against Alistair, still letting out small hiccups from laughing, but seemingly calming down. "I just… I am so wind up that I don't know what to do with myself."

Alistair gave him a friendly pat on the back before nodding towards the tower again, smiling. "Well, lets go and take a few hours in the tower then, eh? After all, I am sure the mages will need some time to prepare themselves for helping us in Redcliffe so… We're entitled for a little bit of rest, as I see it."

"But do we have the time for it," Theron reminded Alistair after he finally stopped laughing. "We may be able to stop for a short time, but no more than we can afford. When the mages are ready, so should we be, if we even get them to follow us."

"Treaties," Alistair simply reminded Theron with a small smirk before rolling his eyes as Morrigan bellowed for them to hurry up.

"Come. Lets go pay those mages a visit. The quicker we are done here, the better I will feel."

Theron nodded in agreement as he followed the templar down towards the water's edge. The quicker they were done here, the better.


	4. Lake Calenhad

_Day 9:_

_It really doesn't seem like any gods are with us lately, especially when considering the luck we've been having._

_While the mages were well aware of their responsibilities, they were a bit… Preoccupied with troubles of their own, if one can even call it that. Turned out that the Circle had been under a siege, having blood mages and demons running around freely. The first enchanter was supposedly dead and the Templars were more than ready to just rid the entire tower of life, but Alistair and I managed to convince them to give us a chance to see if we could do –anything-. _

_Inside the tower we got the aid of an elder mage named Wynne and together we battled our way to the source of the disaster and actually managed to solve things in a… Some-what peaceful way. At least most people, the first enchanter included, survived the encounter. While Alistair and I remained at the tower to help with some of the cleaning, we sent Morrigan back to Redcliffe to give Bann Teagan the message of the mage's willingness to help out with the boy. Seeing as the woman can shape shift, she will be getting there much quicker than the rest of us. Besides, she was only happy about it, by the looks of it. I heard her mutter something about Alistair getting on her nerves…_

_Right now we are only waiting for the first enchanter to finish his talk with the Templars before we leave. The elder mage, Wynne, has also requested to join us in our cause, which we have happily accepted. Having a mage of Wynne's talent will be most useful, especially since Alistair keeps heading head-first into danger with little disregard to his own safety… Thank god he has thick armour, as well as a thick head._

_Hopefully, this will be the last of our major troubles and hopefully the mages can just remove two thorns from our side in one go._

"Are you sure that you are alright, Wynne? We can sit and take a break, you know."

Wynne chuckled and shook her head, giving Alistair a warm smile. "Really, Alistair. It is alright, I am not tired. We are walking in a speed that suits me and my feet just fine. But thank you for your concern, it is very touching and very kind of you to worry about me."

"Well, you are an old woman and you need your rest."

"Careful now or I will show you that this old woman still has some tricks up her sleeve."

Theron just shook his head as he fixed the campfire, carefully using a small flint stone against his dagger to create enough sparks to light it. After making sure that the wood has caught the flames, he carefully speared the meat they had gotten from the tower onto sticks before leaving them to roast.

Letting out a small sigh, the young Dalish made himself comfortable next to the fire, sitting and watching the flames as they licked up towards the sky. He was so tired and he felt that they were still on ground zero, having gotten no-where in their quest. Sure, the mages had agreed to help them, but the tower was a mess and who knew just how many mages the First Enchanter could afford to spare when that time came. He already felt they were gracious enough to offer aid with the human boy in Redcliffe. They had been on the road for almost two weeks now and he had been away from his clan much longer…

He knew that the road ahead was still so much longer…

"A copper for your thoughts?"

Looking up, Theron offered a small smile to the templar as the larger man came to sit next to him, landing beside him with a heavy thump. "I do not think my thoughts are worth that much, Alistair," he murmured as he gazed back at the fire.

"Really now? I am certain they are worth more than mine, considering I mostly think about cheese and clever ways to harm Morrigan."

"Now, the latter is probably worth a coin or two," Theron murmured, earning a rich laugh from Alistair.

"Oh, I know! And I will share them with you as soon as I am sure that Morrigan is not around to listen in."

The Dalish smirked slightly and shook his head before the two men fell silent, the only sound being the light snoring from the large wolf lying next to the Dalish and the crackling from the fire.

While the Mabari had remained with the others back at Redcliffe, Theron's trusty and tame wolf had followed him all the way from the day he left his clan. He had only remained hidden as he was shy amongst large group of unknown people and smells so it was only when they had travelled to Lake Calenhad that he had decided to risk the group of unknown people.

"Hey, Alistair?"

"Hmm?" The templar reached over to grab one of the sticks, testing the meat with his fingers before taking a bite from it.

"About you being of royal blood," Theron started slowly, keeping his eyes fixed on the fire. "Why didn't you say anything? Why did you keep your birthright a secret?"

Alistair looked like he was about to choke on the piece of meat, though me managed. Clearing his throat, he gave Theron a small, cheeky grin. "You never asked?"

Theron raised an eyebrow at him, though the smile on his lips kind. "That's a cheap answer."

Alistair sighed some and after nibbling off some more meat from his stick, he answered. "If you want the full explanation, I will give it to you."

Theron sat up, wanting to give the templar his full attention. Alistair just smiled weakly at him, as if he feared was what coming next. "The thing is," he started slowly. "I'm not used to not telling anyone who didn't already know. It was always a secret. Even Duncan was the only Grey Warden who knew."

Alistair looked a bit down at the mention of Duncan and Theron could tell that the thought of the older Grey Warden was still a sore-spot for the man. He moved a little closer and places a warm hand on the larger man's shoulder and gave it a small, supporting squeeze. Alistair gave a small smile of gratitude.

"It's okay," he murmured softly, though he still reached a hand up to gently squeeze the much smaller hand. "Anyway, after the battle, when I should have told you… I don't know. It seemed like it was too late by then. How do you tell someone that?"

Theron gave Alistair a gentle smile and nodded. "I guess I can understand that."

"I… I should have told you anyway," Alistair replied, returning the gentle smile, poking the stick in his hand against a smouldering log, making it snap in two and fall over. "It was important for you to know. But… I guess part of me liked you not knowing."

The Dalish raised an eyebrow. "Why?" Then he quickly shook his head, hands lifted in defence in fear that he had asked something stupid. "I mean that... What happens when people find out? About your heritage, I mean."

The templar shook his head some, lifting the stick and waving it around as the tip caught fire. "They treat me differently. I become the bastard prince to them instead of just Alistair." Alistair pulled a face. "I know that must sound stupid to you, but I hate that it's shaped my entire life. I never wanted it, and I certainly don't want to be king. The very idea of it terrifies me."

The sound of the crackling fire filled the air as both men fell quiet, the only other sounds being Wynne's soft breathing as the mage had fallen asleep and Baelvain's soft pants as he rested next to his master. The Dalish ranger absentmindedly reached out his hand and started petting the large beasts' head before speaking up. "It doesn't sound stupid at all."

Alistair raised his eyebrow, giving Theron a look that the Dalish guessed meant something in the lines of 'You are kidding now, aren't you?'.

"Really, I can understand it," he murmured, giving the templar a warm smile. "Amongst the Dalish, if a child is discovered to have magical abilities, it is immediately taken in with the Keeper to train so he or she can one day take over as Keeper for the clan. One can rarely ask to be released for that burden, it is tradition. If there are many children with the gift, the eldest is usually picked as the heir, so to speak. And like with your royal lines, I think, the children rarely have a say. They do not ask for the gifts, or for the responsibility."

The templar looked stunned. "Really? The Dalish do that?"

Theron nodded and stabbed a new piece of meat onto his stick, then held it over the fire. "Mhmm. I was just a hunter so I don't know much about it, but one of my friends was the apprentice of the Keeper at the clan I came from. And she says that all one can do is take the responsibility and burden than comes with it at strides."

"I would if I even could, but that is the thing. People don't –want- me as king or even as a prince and I could live with that if not.…" Alistair shook his head some and looked at the piece of meat that was held over the fire, watching as the red meat slowly cooked and changed colours to golden brown. "I mean, for all the good it does me. My blood seems certain to haunt me no matter what I do. I guess I should be thankful that Arl Eamon is far more likely to inherit the throne. If he's alright."

Alistair worried at his lower lip. "I hope he's alright."

Theron just smiled gently at Alistair and reached out a gentle hand towards the larger man's shoulder, grasping at it and giving it a squeeze. Alistair seemed to appreciate the gesture and flashed the Dalish a warm smile in return.

"For what it's worth, I am sorry for not telling you sooner. It was a dumb thing to do."

"Don't worry about it, Alistair. No harm done."

"I guess it's kind of a relief that you know now. Like a burden's been lifted from my chest." Alistair chuckled and flashed Theron an impish grin. "So I suppose we only have to worry about the blight now, eh? Should be a cake-walk compared to this. I mean, phew. That was one huge load to carry."

"Well, you did dump the load of your shoulders back at Redcliffe," Theron mused, giving Alistair a friendly nudge.

"Ah, right. I knew there was something I had forgotten."

"If you two don't mind, but I would really like to get some sleep. I suspect the trip to Redcliffe is not going to be a stroll down the lane."

Theron and Alistair looked over their shoulders towards Wynne, who just huffed and turned around at her spot, tugging the blanket almost completely over her face. Grinning some, the two Wardens tossed each other a small look before they both broke out laughing, the happy sound echoing in the otherwise silent night.

Behind them, a soft sigh was heard from somewhere under the blanket accompanied by a shake to Wynne's head.

"Children…."


End file.
